I wear a lighter shoe for races up to 10km and sometimes for tempo runs or intervals, depending on how beat up my legs are feeling. Just because it's fun I have no illusions that it makes me run faster.

My rotation is Mizuno Nirvana for training or longer races, and the Elixir for speedier stuff.

Typically New Balance's Minimus Road. When there's less gravel on the road (i.e., not winter), I run in Inov8 Bare-X 200s.

My trail shoes are more substantial, though.

"When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." Emil Zatopek

Lightweight trainers for most runs and flats of some sort for all races.

XC - ASICS Hyperspeed XC

10K and below - Mizuno Wave Universe or Brooks T7,T6 or Puma FAAS 250

Longer than 10K - ASICS Gel Tarther

meaghansketch

posted: 1/19/2013 at 11:44 AM

I overpronate and usually do better in a shoe with a bit of stability. The lighter shoes may have no effect (except psychologically), but even the mental boost of 'you're wearing your fast shoes, you're going to go fast' is worth it to me when I have a big goal in mind.

Plus, I figure I'm putting the mileage in on one shoe or another, so it's not like it's much more expensive to rotate through 3/4 pairs of shoes which I replace rarely than to rotate through 1/2 pairs of shoes that I have to replace constantly.

Newton Distance(2 pairs in rotation, one half mileage and the other newish)

Offroad and bad weather:

Newton Momentum Terra

The Terras are definately heavier and I had to wear them daily in Dec due to ice on the paved trails that hadn't melted. The first time I put on my lighter Distance shoes, like instant speed vs effort! I was amazed! When my higher mileage Distance shoes get retired,I think I might go with the Lady Issac so that I continue to train more frequently in a heavier shoe. It definately had it's benefits just in the month I was forced to wear heavier trainers day in & day out.